It has been a long 18 years since Tara Deshpande-Tennebaum travelled to her then fiancé’s home in Minnesota to celebrate her first Passover — the eight-day Jewish festival that commemorates the emancipation of Israelites from slavery in ancient Egypt. The Seder — a ritual feast arranged by her mother-in-law — is therefore very special. “Those were the most fun Seders and we ate for hours!” she reminisces.
Although being a practising Hindu, the actor and cookbook author finds the tradition “very enjoyable” and continues to celebrate the week-long holiday with friends and family or at the Keneseth Eliyahoo synagogue in Fort. “I enjoy Jewish traditions because you have the freedom to do things in a way that you are comfortable without giving up your own identity,” says Deshpande-Tennebaum. It is for this reason that along with her husband Daniel, Deshpande-Tennebaum will be hosting a Seder dinner at her Mumbai home this Passover, which began on March 30 and will end on April 7 this year.
Passover or Pesach (in Hebrew) is the first of two meals or Seders of the festival when everyone gets together to enjoy a ritual dinner, which is typically kosher or kashrut and prepared in accordance with Jewish dietary rules, and read prayers from the religious text Haggadah . It is imperative that meat and milk are not mixed in the same meal. This year, Deshpande-Tennebaum will prepare a dairy menu consisting of milk, fish and eggs and no meat.
Alternatives to bread
It is believed that when Jews had to leave Egypt in a hurry, they had no time to leaven bread and therefore the practice is to abstain from certain grains and yeast-leavened foods. Conservative Jews remove wheat, barley, oats and rye including the vessels that are used to prepare such foods for seven days from their homes. “Gluten or leavened bread called hametz is prohibited during Pesach. Until recently rice, millet, corn and legumes collectively known as kitniyot were also prohibited for Ashkenazi Jews (European Jewry),” reveals Deshpande-Tennebaum. However, Sephardic Jews (including Indian Jews) consume rice during this period.
The substitute for bread is matza or matzo , an unleavened cracker, which is eaten like a sandwich by breaking it in half and spreading charoset — a sweet chutney cooked with wine and dried fruits along with grated horseradish. Local Indian Jews make their own version of matza from dried ground wheat.
Centre of the table
Passover foods across the community consist of several items, which are laid on a Seder plate and kept in the centre of the table. Maror or chazeret — bitter herbs usually romaine lettuce symbolise the slavery the Jews endured in Egypt; charoset — a sweet, fruity mixture represents the mortar and brick used by them to build the pyramids of Egypt; karpas — a vegetable other than bitter herbs such as parsley signifies hope and renewal and is eaten by dipping the leaves in salt water representing the tears of the slaves; zeroh — the only element of meat in a seder typically roasted chicken neck or wing or shankbone symbolises the sacrificial lamb; beitzah — a roasted hard-boiled egg symbolises mourning are typically part of a Seder dinner.
A charoset in Ashkenazi Jewish homes is typically made from chopped nuts, grated apples, cinnamon and sweet red wine, however Sephardic traditions observed in India use dates, sesame and raisins. Sephardic Jews are those settled along the Malabar Coast or Cochin, whereas Kolkata Jews are originally from Baghdad and Bene Israelis from the Konkan Coast. Each has distinct cuisines primarily borrowed from the region they came from as well as where they finally settled.
The Deshpande-Tennebaum Seder menu will comprise both Sephardic and Ashkenazi traditions, the former permit lentils and rice during Passover until recently when the European Jews disallowed them. She will make her grandparents’ neighbour, aunty Eva Aboody’s Baghdadi Jewish recipe of mahasha or stuffed eggplants, a Cochin Jewish-style charoset with dates and raisins, Bene Israeli-style fish cutlets made with rawas or Indian salmon, an Israeli Letchini salad with fresh oranges, the classic matzo ball soup with a vegetarian broth, and her mother-in-law’s flourless chocolate cake. Out of all the dishes, Deshpande-Tennebaum, who is also an antique cookbook collector, is most excited about cooking from the 1886 edition of Aunt Babette’s Cookbook — one of the oldest surviving American Jewish recipe books. “I am planning to adapt her recipe of matzo kugel , which is a baked custard with apricots,” informs Deshpande-Tennebaum adding that her friends will also bring devilled eggs and a vegetable stew called tsimmes .
Recipe for Cochini Haroset (makes about 2 cups)
Ingredients
1.5 tbsp white sesame seeds plus ½ tbsp
175 gms pitted brown dates
2 tbsp sweet white wine (optional, use water or grape juice)
4 tbsp golden raisins, pips removed and soaked in ½ cup water
1/2 cup toasted walnut pieces
1 cup peeled and finely diced red apples
1.25 tsp whole coriander seeds
2 dried red Kashmiri chillies stalks removed (or use to taste)
Salt to taste
Method
Put the dates and ½ tsp salt into a saucepan.
Add ¾ cup water and cook to a boil until most of the water has evaporated.
Meanwhile toast ¼ tbsp sesame seeds in a dry skillet on medium heat until toasty. Reserve.
Toast remaining sesame seeds, red chillies in the dry skillet until toasty. Cool and grind to a smooth powder.
Chop half the cooked dates. Reserve.
Grind the remaining dates and ground sesame and spices to a smooth puree.
Stir in the walnuts, apples, raisins and chopped dates. Adjust for salt.
Garnish with remaining sesame seeds.
